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October 19. 2012

FEATURED BLOG

"No 'Personhood' Amendments Will Appear on Any Ballot This Election Day," Erin Gloria Ryan, Jezebel: Although no "personhood" amendments will appear on state ballots this fall, "that doesn't mean [they're] not seeing demoralizing success in state legislatures," Ryan writes regarding attempts by some abortion-rights opponents to declare that fertilized eggs are people. She notes that in the past seven years, 10 out of the 11 antiabortion-rights state ballot measures have failed, indicating a lack of public interest "in voting to limit the rights of other people." She concludes, "If only our elected officials felt the same way" (Ryan, Jezebel, 10/16).

FEATURED BLOG

"The Woman who Dared To Show us a Transvaginal Probe," Steve Williams, Care2: Williams highlights a recent campaign advertisement by North Carolina Senate candidate Deb Butler in which she displays a transvaginal ultrasound wand and criticizes abortion restrictions that her opponent supported. "Butler's ad does something that few have dared: it actually shows the public what a transvaginal probe looks like," Williams writes, adding that advocates of mandatory ultrasounds before abortion "have been quite shy" about that. Butler's opponent, state Sen. Thom Goolsby (R), called her a "complainer," Williams writes, adding, "When it comes to transvaginal probes and the violation of women's bodies, we can agree the complaint is justified" (Williams, Care2, 10/16).

Video Round Up

N.C. Gov. To Break Campaign Promise on Abortion Bills

AP/ABC News 11's Ed Crump discusses how North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) will break his campaign pledge to not sign any abortion restrictions if he signs a 72-hour mandatory delay bill into law. Watch the video

Datapoints

See where states rank on reproductive rights across the U.S. Plus, find out how states are imposing more restrictions on and limiting women's access to abortion. Read more

At A Glance

"Not since before Roe v. Wade has a law or court decision had the potential to devastate access to reproductive health care on such a sweeping scale."

— Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, on a ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld major portions of a Texas antiabortion-rights law. Read more